This invention relates to an automatic bread maker in which bread can be automatically made by charging breadstuff into a bread vessel, and besides a steaming function is added so as to easily make bagels.
There is already known a bread maker in which a desired menu is selected from a plurality of bread-making menus, and required breadstuff is put into a bread vessel, and merely by doing so, a bread-making process, comprising a kneading step of kneading the breadstuff, a fermentation step of fermenting dough, a degassing step of deflating the expanded dough, a shaping-fermentation step of expanding the dough into a shape of the bread, and a baking step of baking the expanded dough, is performed in a sequential manner, thereby automatically making the bread. There is also known such a device of the type in which in addition to a menu for effecting the entire process including a bread-baking step, a dough-making menu for effecting a process from a kneading step to a primary fermentation step is provided, so that bagels and pizza can be prepared.
However, such a bread maker does not have the function of baking bagels. Generally, when making bagel bread, dough is kneaded, and is fermented, and after the fermentation, the dough is divided into sections or pieces, and these are formed into a doughnut-shape, and these are again fermented, and then are boiled in hot water of about 90.degree. C., and then are baked. A feature of this bread is that the dough is boiled in hot water for 30 seconds to 1 minute before the dough is baked. This is effected so as (1) to instantaneously suppress the fermentation and expansion of the dough, (2) to gelatinize starch in the dough and (3) to gelatinize the surface of the dough, and as a result the resistance to the teeth and a fresh baking color, which are inherent to the bagel bread, are obtained.
From results of tests conducted by Applicant, of the present application, it has been found that the boiling of the bagel dough can be replaced by steaming. The bagel bread, prepared by baking the steamed dough, had almost the same resistance to the teeth and the same baking color as that prepared by baking the boiled dough. Based on these findings, Applicant of the present application has earlier filed Japanese Patent Application No. Hei. 9-123181, and has proposed a bread maker in which there is provided steam producing means for producing steam within an oven, and there is provided a bagel bread course in which charged bagel dough is steamed, and then is baked.
In a baking step of such a bagel bread course, the bagel dough is baked by heat generated by a heater provided at an inner bottom portion of the oven, and particularly when the bagel dough pieces are set or arranged in a multi-stage manner within the oven, there has been encountered a problem the bagel dough pieces are subjected to uneven baking, depending on their locations within the oven.